Auggie & Me (32 page)

“Yes!” I said.

“Well, that's why I'm out here playing, girl!” he said excitedly. “To brighten up people's days.”

I nodded happily.

“Okay,” I said. “Thank you, Mr. Johnson.”

“You can call me Gordy.”

“I'm Charlotte, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Charlotte,” he said.

He extended his hand. I shook it.

“I better go now,” I said. “It was nice talking to you.”

“Bye-bye, Charlotte.”

“Bye-bye, Mr. Johnson.”

I reached into my pocket, pulled out a dollar bill, and dropped it into his accordion case.

Swoosh.

“God bless America!” said Gordy Johnson.

R. J. Palacio lives in New York City with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. For more than twenty years, she was an editorial director, an art director, and a graphic designer, working on books for other people while waiting for the perfect time in her life to start writing her own novel. But one day several years ago, a chance encounter with an extraordinary child in front of an ice-cream store made R. J. realize that the perfect time to write that book had finally come.
Wonder
is her first novel. She did not design the cover, but she sure does love it.

WONDER

365 DAYS OF WONDER

THE WONDER JOURNAL

AUGGIE & ME: THREE WONDER STORIES
AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 19728 6

Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,
an imprint of Random House Children's Publishers UK
A Penguin Random House Company

THE JULIAN CHAPTER
first published by RHCP Digital, 2014
Text copyright © R. J. Palacio, 2014

PLUTO
first published by RHCP Digital, 2015
Text copyright © R. J. Palacio, 2015

SHINGALING
first published by RHCP Digital, 2015
Text copyright © R. J. Palacio, 2015

This ebook edition published 2015

Text copyright © R. J. Palacio, 2014, 2015
Cover and interior illustrations © Tad Carpenter, 2014, 2015

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of lyrics and extracts included in this book, but in some cases this has not proved possible. The publishers therefore wish to thank the authors or copyright holders of those lyrics and extracts which are included without acknowledgement. The publishers would be grateful to be notified of any errors or omissions and will be happy to make good any such errors or omissions in future printings.

The right of R. J. Palacio to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.